1. Field of the Disclosure
The present invention relates to a washing machine which can wash laundry, more particularly, to a driving part configured to drive the washing machine.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In general, washing machines are electric appliances which can wash laundry by using both detergent and mechanical friction. Such washing machines may be categorized into top-loading washing machines and front-loading washing machines. Those types of washing machines commonly include a tub (that is, an outer tub) configured to hold wash water therein and a drum (that is, an inner tub) located in the tub to perform washing for laundry received therein. Specifically, according to such a top-loading washing machine, a drum for accommodating laundry therein is vertically oriented in a housing of the washing machine, with a laundry introduction opening is formed in a top portion. Because of that, the laundry is loaded into the drum via the opening formed in a top portion of the housing which communicates with a drum opening of the drum. In contrast, according to such a front-loading washing machine, a drum for accommodating laundry therein is horizontally lying or oriented in a housing, with an opening facing a front of the washing machine. Because of that, the laundry is loaded into the drum via a laundry introduction opening formed in a front surface of the housing which communicates with the opening of the drum. Both of the top-loading washing machine and the front-loading washing machine include doors coupled to the housings to open and close each opening of the housings, respectively.
A driving structure of the washing machine may be categorized into an indirect connection structure and a direct connection structure. According to the indirect structure, a drum accommodating laundry therein and a motor have pulleys, respectively. The pulleys are connected with the drum and the motor via belts indirectly, and a variety of mechanisms capable of connecting the drum and the motor with each other indirectly may be usable. In contrast, according to the direct connection structure, a rotor provided in a motor is connected with a drum directly.
The front-loading type washing machine has a compact size and it damages little fabric, compared with the other type washing machines. Also, the direct connection structure can transfer a power of the motor to the drum with almost no loss. Those advantages make the front-loading type washing machine having the direct connection structure consumed broadly.
In the various types of washing machines as mentioned above, the motor is mounted to a rear wall of the tub in the front-loading type washing machine and it is mounted on a bottom surface of the tub in the top-loading type washing machine. Especially, in case of the direct connection structure, the motor may be directly attached to the tub for efficient power transfer. However, the motor would be quite heavy because it includes a stator having a metal core. Moreover, the motor, in other words, the rotor is rotated at a high speed during the operation of the washing machine and much vibration is applied to the tub accordingly. Because of that, a coupling part formed in the tub to couple the tub and the motor to each other is subject to damage because of the weight of the motor and the vibration. As a result, it is important to provide the tub with sufficient rigidity and strength.
In addition, the various types of the washing machines have been under development to be able to wash the laundry effectively and conveniently. Nevertheless, it will be continuously required to improve various aspects of the washing machines, for example, washing capacity increase, productivity increase and noise/vibration decrease and the like.